The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1887-05-13

handcuff or break the hoppls. then be hnt
the power Of the IRON And there are me
who have been for ten and twenty and thirt
years bound hand and foot by evil habit
who have never felt the power Of the chai
because they have never tried TO break 1t.
10 very easy to 90 on down with the streaI
and with the wind, lying on your oars; bu
Just turn around and try to 60 against tn
wind and the tide and you will find 1t differ
emit matter. As long as we 90 down the cur
rent Of our evil habit we seem to get alonl
quite smoothly, but II after while we turf
around and head the other way, towar'
Christ and pardon and heaven, oh, then hov
we have to lay to the oars! You all hav
your temptation. You have one kind, yo'
| another, you another, not one person escaping
1t is all folly for you to say to some one
~ could not be tempted as You are" Th'
lion thinks 1t Is 30 strange that the fish SHOULD
be caught with hook. The fish thinks 1t Il
so strange that the lion should be caught
with trap. You see some man with cold
phlegmatic temperament. and you say: y
suppose that man has not any temptation.
Yes, as much as you have. In hisphlegmatit
nature he has temptation to Incidence and
consciousness and over eating and drinking
| temptation 10 ignore the great work OF life
temptation to lay down an obstacle In the
way Of all good enterprises. The tempera'
ment decides the styles Of temptation; but
sanguine or Emphatic, you will have temp
tation. Satan has graphing hook just fitted
for your soul. A man never lives beyond the
reach of temptation. You say when man
gets to be 70 or 80 years Of age he is safe from
all Satanic assault. You are very much mis-
taken. A man at IS years Of age has as many
temptations as man at Is. They are only
different styles Of temptation.
Ask the aged Christian whether he is never
assaulted of the powers Of darkness. II you
think you have conquered the power OF
temptation, you are very much mistaken.
A man who wanted a throne pretended he
was very weak and sckly, and II he was
elevated he would soon be gone. He
crawled upon his crutches to the throne, and
having attained it he was strong again. He
said: ut was well for me while was looking
for the scepter of another that I should
stoop, but now that have found it, why
should stoop any longer?" and he threw
away his crutches and was well again.
How illustrative of the power Of tempta-
ton! You think it is a weak and crippled
influence; but give it q chance, and it will be
tyrant in your soul, 1t will grind you to
atoms No man has finally and forever
overcome temptation until he has left the
world. But what are you to do with these
temptations9 Tell everybody about themi
All, what a silly man you would be! As
we'll might commander in a fort send word
to the enemy which gate of the castle is least
barred as for you to go and tell what all
your frailties are and what your temptations
are. The world will only caricature you,
will only scoff at you. What then
must man dot When the wave
strikes him with terrific dash shall
he have nothing to hold on to- In
this contest with "the world. the flesh and the
devil" shall a man have no help, no counsela
Our text intimates something different. In
those eyes that wept with the Bethany sisters
I see shining hope. In that voice which
spake until the grave broke and the widow Of
Main had back her lost son, and the sea slept,
and sorrow stupendous woke up in the
arms of rapture-in that voice I hear the
and the promise: "Cast thy burden
On the Lord, and he will sustain thee" Why
should you carry your burdens any. longer9
Oh, you weary soul, Christ has BEEN In this |
conflict. He says: any grace shall be suf-
hcient for you. You shall not be tempted
above that you are able to hear" Therefore,
with all your temptations, 60 as these disciples
did, and tell Jesus.
Again: commend the behavior of the
disciples to all those who are abused and SIAN
dered and prosecuted. When Herod put John
to death, the disciples knew that their own
heads were not safe. And do you know that
every John has a Herode There are persons
In life who do mot wish you very well. Your
misfortunes are honeycombs to them.
Through their teeth they hiss at you. nisin-
terpret your motives and would be
glad to see you upset. No man gets
through life without having pummeling. |
Some SANDER comes after you, horned and |
nusked and hoofed, 10 gore and tranple you;
md what are you to dot tell you plainly |
hat all who serve Christ must suffer persecu-
ion. It is the worst sign in the world for
you to be able to say: II haven't an enemy
n the world" A woe is pronounced in the
Bible against the one of whom everybody
peaks well. II you are at peace with all the
world, and everybody likes you and approves
'our work, it is because you are an idler in
he Lords vineyard, and are not doing your
uty.
All those who have served Christ, however
minent, have been maltreated at some stage
f their experience. You know it was so in
he time of George Whitfield, when he stood
nd invited men into the kingdom of God.
What did the learned DIR. johnson say to
inf He pronounced him miserable mounte-
ank. How was it when Robert Hall stood
nd spoke as scarcely any uninspired man
yer did speak Of the glories of heaven? And
) he stood Sabbath after Sabbath preaching
n these themes his face kindled with the
lory. John Foster, Christian man, said of
lis man: "Robert Hall is only acting, and
lie smile on his face is a reflection of his own
anity." John Wesley turned all England
oside down with Christian reform. and yet
10 punsters were after him, and the meanest
kes in England were perpetrated about
'hn Wesley. What is true Of the pulpit is t
ne of the pew; it is true of the street, it is I
lie Of the shop and the store All who will 8
re godly in Christ Jesus must suffer persecu- .
IN.
And set it down as the very worst sign in c
your Christian experience, il you are, any '
you, at peace with all the world. The re- t
ion Of Christ is war. It Is challenge to b
he world, the flesh and the devil;" and if Ii
u will buckle OH the whole armor of God n
u will find great host disputing your
tn between this and heaven. But what are c
u to do when you are assaulted and SLAM C
red and abused, as I suppose nearly all of @